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The AccountingWEB Friday Wrap-Up Newswire - Issue 26January 21, 2000http://www.accountingweb.comIn the news this week:1. H.D. Vest Moves Ahead In The Race To Be "Better Than Free"2. Wackiest Tax Court Cases Of 19993. John Sharbaugh Named New Exec of the Texas CPA Society4. Want To Corner The Market in Online Tax Preparation Services?5. Big 5 Execs Continue To Be Lured To The Internet6.

Cyber-security is a big issue these days. But just how vulnerable is your computer to a possible security breach? Get a quick, free and easy security diagnostic through www.antionline.com by providing nothing more than an email address. One of their systems will scan your computer remotely, and report back any potential vulnerabilities and how to fix them. Hopefully your analysis will come back without too much to report!

It was only a matter of time.Individuals and businesses have been flocking to the Internet in record numbers over the past couple of years, so why not an entire town?Yesterday, the town of Halfway, Oregon officially changed it's name to Half.com, prompted by a successful lobbying effort by a dot-com company of the same name.Half.com, a business that sells half-priced books and movies over the Internet, approached the town leadership last month asking if they would be interested in changing the name of

The IRS reports that the fifteenth year of electronic tax filing is off to a strong start, recording a 27.7% increase in e-filing for this opening weekend of the tax season.The IRS expects one in four taxpayers will file electronically this year, representing over 33 million returns.

Fearing a growing competitive threat from electronic trading systems, the Chicago Board of Trade voted yesterday to split the 150 year old exchange in two companies -- one that operates as a "traditional" exchange and one that operates exclusively as an electronic exchange.Both companies would provide a medium for the consumer to operate in a way that they are most comfortable.Open floor trading would continue in the traditional exhange, and would be run by a privately held for-profit corporation.The electronic trading company would be spun off into a

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has signed an agreement with Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes (CNCC) and with the Ordre des Experts Comptables (OEC) – both located in Paris – to offer CPA WebTrust in France.

Effective July 1, G. Michael Crooch a partner and director of the International Professional Standards Group at Arthur Andersen, will begin his five-year term as a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. "We are pleased to have a person of such stature as Mike Crooch agree to serve on the FASB," said Manuel H. Johnson, chairman and president of the Foundation.

You’ve decided you want an intranet, but now you aren’t sure which way you should go – keep it on the inside of your organization or put it out on the Net. The benefits vary as do costs. If you keep it inside, obviously, your security is increased because hackers can’t get to it – your intranet is hidden inside your firm. Another factor is speed. Since your intranet runs on the same system that connects your computers, the speed is much faster than the Internet. Training isn’t a factor, either, because an intranet uses a browser that your employees most likely know already.

CONTACT: MARY DALE WALTERS 847-267-2038 mediahelp@cch.comFourth Annual List of Wacky Tax Court CasesVENTRILOQUIST, BEGGAR, SPY, BROTHEL VISITOR: IRS THREW THE BOOK AT THESE CHARACTERS, BUT A FEW FOUND A HAPPY ENDING IN COURT (RIVERWOODS, ILL., January 17, 2000) – The expression “truth is stranger than fiction” can usually be proved in court, according to CCH INCORPORATED (CCH), a leading provider of tax law information.

Is having the right domain name the key to success in online tax preparation?If you think the answer is "yes," and if you're willing to invest at least $260,000, then at this time next week you might be well on your way to cornering the market for online tax preparation services.How?The domain name WWW.TAXES.COM is being auctioned off this week by domain name broker GreatDomains.com.According to the promotion:"In the area of taxes, no other name confers the instant credibility and recognition rep

Financial broker H.D. Vest today announced a new service which offers US taxpayers free web-prepared e-filed tax returns, regardless of salary of form requirements.The new service, available at H. D. Vest Online, is expected to draw one million users in its first tax preparation season.

John Sharbaugh is the new CEO and executive director for the Texas Society of CPAs. He succeeds Don Weldon, who is retiring this year.Sharbaugh is known nationally for his support of the accounting profession as the current vice president of State Societies and Regulatory Affairs with AICPA in the Washington, D.C.

Many CPAs and accounting professionals provide advice to clients on the virtues of investing in long-term IRAs. But how do you explain the tax ramifications for heirs to an estate in plain-speak?Some measures can be implemented to prevent Federal estate tax, and Federal and state income taxes from taking up to 75 percent of investments.

What's behind the hoopla when major award shows bring out the accountants? Quite a bit, if you're Ernst & Young, who has kept the tally for Golden Globe Award winners for more than 30 years.Already, the firm is at work for this year's broadcast on Sunday, Jan. 23, and "3" seems to be a magic number. For three days prior to the broadcast, only three people - two EY CPAs and one assistant, know who the winners will be.Remember the 5:30 a.m. press conference in December to announce the nominees?

The Internet is an incredible source of power for you and your employees, but there’s another source you may not have considered – Intranets. An intranet is a web site that’s available only to your organization. Only you and your employees have access to the information on your company’s web site.

Many CPAs and accounting professionals rely on the Internet to transfer client files and sensitive information, but sometimes high security just doesn't work.Such was the case as MSNBC was able to hack through files, using a common database tool, to view the records of seven e-commerce Web sites, including personal information about cardholders.

Below is the transcript of the workshop held January 18, 2000 and presented by Carolyn Newman on computer assisted audit techniques. Please review the transcripts, and share them with anyone else in your firm responsible for CAATs.Scott Cytron: Good afternoon. Welcome! We are happy you could be here with us this afternoon. I’m Scott Cytron and I will be facilitating the workshop today. We want to encourage you to take advantage of the interactive nature of the workshop.

Testing for skills and aptitude before hiring is nothing new, but doing it over the Internet has become one of the new trends because of the immense savings in time.Ernst & Young has contracted with Virginia-based Brainbench to use the company's skills assessment tests to screen applicants for 500 IT professionals who will work on EY's Sprint contract.According to EY, using online testing sources like Brainbench reduces the hiring time from weeks to a matter of hours.

Netledger and its availability as an Application Service Provider (ASP) with Web-based applications has won PC Computing magazine's 1999 Most Valuable Product Award for Outsourcing Accounting.Netledger placed ahead of accounting rivals Andersen Consulting and Deloitte & Touche. In its 11th year, the awards program honors technology and buisness tools for their applications over the Internet and in other high-tech arenas.